Ruth (Ruth W. Harding)

Ruth (Ruth W. Harding) from 1903 is notable for its current location in the White House, Washington D.C. — Eakins's only work in that collection. Ruth Harding's connection to the White House collection is not fully documented, but the work represents Eakins's quiet penetration into the most symbolically significant institutional collection in America. The portrait is typical of his late manner: a young woman painted with complete seriousness, no concession made to the conventions of feminine portraiture that demanded softness, beauty, and social charm above truthful observation of individual character.

The face is built with Eakins's usual controlled tonal layering, the light source giving clear structure without dramatic artifice. Expression and character emerge from the careful observation of the face's specific forms rather than from any imposition of emotional meaning by the artist onto his subject.